5-Day Miracle Diet [Mass Market Paperback]

Adele Puhn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 1997

EVER FEEL LIKE YOU NEED A MIRACLE TO LOSE WEIGHT?

Well, the miracle is here! You've seen Adele Puhn on The Gordon Elliott Show and Day & Date delivering the good news: You don't need willpower; you do need a program that is medically safe, is nutritionally sound, and promises astounding results by taking away your urge to overeat. That's The 5-Day Miracle Diet.

Adele tells you exactly which foods to eat at what times, a simple plan that will regulate your blood sugar and keep it stable all day long. When you're in "good blood sugar," your cravings disappear--a process that takes just five days! And not only will you lose your cravings, you'll steadily melt away pounds while feeling more energized, mentally focused, and healthier than ever before. So toss out your food pyramids, low-fat cookies, and carbo-packed meals. And throw away words like willpower, motivation, and urges. Adele Puhn's program works with your body, not against it, to bring you fabulous results--the weight loss you've always wanted, easier than you ever dreamed possible.  

"ADELE PUHN'S HIGH-ENERGY EATING REGIME WAS SIMPLE AND ENABLED ME TO SUSTAIN EIGHT PERFORMANCES OF HAMLET A WEEK."           --Ralph Fiennes

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Devilishly handsome actor Ralph Feinnes, who packed on pounds for his role in Schindler's List, followed this plan and said it helped him keep his energy level high enough to survive his grueling, eight-times-a-week performances of Hamlet. The word "diet" in the title may be a bit misleading, as it's more of a blood sugar-regulating eating schedule; once blood sugar is normalized, says author Adele Puhn, cravings soon dissipate, and that helps excess pounds fall off almost by themselves. It's not a five-day diet, either, as the title implies; rather, that's the amount of time it takes to get your blood sugar fully normalized.

Puhn, who has a master's degree in medical biology and has been certified as a nutritional specialist by the American College of Nutrition, has 20 years of experience working with this diet. She says that timing is the key. Each day, there's a mandatory snack within two hours of breakfast, and two more snacks in the afternoon. There are a few no-no foods that would cause a rush of blood sugar (no pasta for lunch, no plain bagels for breakfast, no grapes for snacks), but other than that, the program is remarkably simple. Puhn says that losing weight is 75 percent physiological (cravings sabotaging your efforts) and 25 percent psychological, such as when your inner "fathead" says you have to have that piece of chocolate birthday cake or you'll hurt Aunt Fanny's feelings. The 5 Day Miracle Diet shows you how to conquer both of these forces, leading to weight loss, improvements in energy, and decreases in blood pressure and cholesterol levels. While its advice may be unusual (vegetables or turkey get the okay for breakfast), its message is clearly sane. It's "not about never eating certain things again. It's about learning how to live harmoniously with your food."

From Publishers Weekly

At half the length, this would have been an excellent guide to training away your cravings and losing weight, but redundancies and fillers add inappropriate padding. The basic point is as follows: if your blood sugar bottoms out, you start to have cravings, while at the same time you've become too tired and cranky to stand firm against them. Puhn, a certified nutrition specialist, recommends a starch and protein breakfast (starch breaks down quickly, protein slowly); and vegetables and proteins for lunch and dinner. More importantly, Puhn recommends snacking twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon on what she calls "Hard Chew" or "Soft Chew" snacks (apple or cantaloupe) in order to keep in "Good Blood Sugar" or GBS. With examples and sample menus, she outlines daily eating plans. Recognizing that not everyone is the same, she makes allowances for occasional indulgences and smartly helps tailor the program to vegetarians and to the insulin-resistant and carbo addicts. She also makes a cogent case against "Lite" foods (which often make up for low fat by high sugar or high salt). But jargon ("the fathead factor") and peppy patter ( "You call this a diet? I call it a dream come true") make this sensible, practical program hard to swallow.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (March 30, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345419987
• ISBN-13: 978-0345419989
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensible and Effective, May 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: 5-Day Miracle Diet (Mass Market Paperback)

I really struggle with cravings for breads and sweets, but the blanced approach of Adele Puhn's program has helped me curb these hunger pangs. The diet has also helped to alleviate a headache that I've carried for the last two months.

It's basically an eating schedule: protein and whole grains for breakfast and lunch, veggies and fruit as snacks throughout the day, and the most "sensible" dinner I've seen in any diet book. She explains the basis for developing the program and why it works. It's inspiring - you CAN be free from cravings.

Adele's mindset is that this way of eating is a way of life, not just a diet. Of course you can't live without ever having another piece of cake or glass of wine. The program allows for that - requires it, in fact.

This book easily earned five stars. The program is relatively easy to follow, the dietary guidelines are in keeping with RDAs and other programs with high success rates, and the book conatains a helpful section adressing the psycological aspects of dieting.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Diet Book Ever!, June 8, 2000

By 

L. Hartman "leahlovesrick" (Middletown, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 5-Day Miracle Diet (Mass Market Paperback)

A must read!

For anyone who has ever tried to lose weight, this book is the one for you! I've tried just about every diet out there but Adele's plan really works. I've been doing the 5-Day Miracle Diet now for two weeks and have already lost 9 lbs. More importantly, just like she says in the book, my cravings are gone and I have more energy than I've ever had in my life. I admit I was skeptical when I started her plan but on day 5 I noticed a huge difference in my energy level. I no longer need my coffee in the morning or any sweets throughout the day.

Her plan may sound complicated at first but once you follow it for 5 days you don't even have to think about it anymore. Like she says the weight just falls off and you feel wonderful! I can't say enough about Adele's book and how it has changed my life in just two short weeks. This book is not just about losing weight, it's also for anyone who wants to be free of cravings forever and have more energy than imaginable to enjoy life!

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This really IS a miracle diet, June 20, 2002

By 

"gray2075" (Chapel Hill, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 5-Day Miracle Diet (Mass Market Paperback)

I find the book and program therein easy to comprehend. The author, Adele Puhn, provides a complete, doable program that when followed delivers on every promise she makes. Using this book as a guide, I have "owned" the program for 9 months now and lost over 110 pounds, dramatically improved my health and well being, and brought order to decades of destructive eating habits and the ensuing blood sugar chaos. Before I purchased the book, I was a little put off by the word Miracle in its title; however, I have come to agree that it truly IS a miracle. Thank you to Ms. Puhn for writing this book and sharing her program. For me, it is literally life-saving.